


Hurt

by Einfach_Antonia



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Death, Drama, F/M, Hurt, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:33:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24883903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Einfach_Antonia/pseuds/Einfach_Antonia
Summary: Nobody but Smoker heard Tashigi scream in agony.Nobody but Smoker saw her breaking down.
Relationships: Roronoa Zoro/Tashigi
Comments: 25
Kudos: 45





	Hurt

**Author's Note:**

> Some or most of you may hate me after reading this... but for me this was some kind of therapy and I really needed to get it out of my system.  
> But I really want to say thank you to the whole ZoTash Discord Server for always worrying about me and loving me and cheering me on. You guys are special and I love you 💚💜

**Hurt**

Tashigi ran as fast as she could, and she was pretty sure she never ran faster in her entire life. Every breath was burning in her lungs and her sides felt like someone was stabbing her over and over again, but she kept on running. She could not stop, she had to reach them. Had to reach him!

Tashigi knew she was near; the cheers of the people were becoming louder and louder. It disgusted her to hear these sounds while she knew that they were cheering because of the upcoming execution of an innocent man.

Although he wasn't innocent in the eyes of the spectator and the Navy. His one and only crime was that he called himself a pirate. If he had done the things he did while still being a pirate hunter, the crowd would probably be cheering too. Not because of his execution but for the fact that he was a hero.

Over the last years, he and his friends had saved numerous lives and they defeated so many criminals! But because they were sailing under a jolly roger, the World Government refused to acknowledge any of their doings. Instead, they have put high bounties on their heads and sentenced them to death without a proper trial as soon as they would capture them.

Tashigi was now pushing her way through the crowd, sometimes she even had to punch some people so that they would move out of her way. She didn't care about the nasty things they screamed after her, she needed to get to the front no matter the cost.

Tears were starting to fill her eyes and maybe she used more force than necessary to push the big fat man in front of her to the side.  
"Hey you bitch!" he screamed; grabbing her by the wrist and bringing her to an abrupt halt. "We all want to see the death of this filthy pirate! But just because you are a woman that does not mean that you can weasel your way to the front!"

Suddenly loud screams and cheers erupted around them. Tashigi needed only one look over her shoulder to understand what was going on. Two marines were escorting the green-haired man onto the platform.

Panic rushed through her veins. Not long now and they would execute him. With new determination, she looked back to the man who was still holding her wrist and who was still yelling at her and decided to kick him between his legs with full force, forcing him to let go of her.

Without missing a beat, she took off again, she needed to stop this. Needed to save him! Tashigi heard Akainu speaking but did not understand a word, the crowd was too loud, and his words didn't matter anyway. He was probably twisting the truth of how he captured the swordsman and he probably told even more lies about the innocent lives Zoro allegedly took.

Lies, all lies. But of course, the disgusting people in this crowd believed every single one of them. Now more forcefully than before, she pushed the people aside and soon Tashigi had reached the front row.

Relief ran through her aching body. All there was left to do now was defeating the marines. Tashigi was in the middle of drawing Shigure when, once again, somebody grabbed her by the wrist.

"I don't have time for this," she growled getting ready to punch whoever in the face when she realized who was holding her back.  
"Don't risk your career for that," Smoker said. "His crew will come and save him."  
_No, they won't._

"They are not even on this island!" she shouted back at him, fully aware of how desperate she sounded. That was one of the reasons she was determined to save Roronoa Zoro herself. She turned around again but her superior didn't let go of her.  
"Why are they not here?! Damn it!" he yelled at her.

Because Tashigi asked him to come alone! Because she wanted to talk to him in peace! As civils and not as pirate and marine. That was the reason he came without his crew. She was the reason he got arrested! She was the reason he was now kneeling on this platform facing death!

All these reasons ran through her mind as she looked up at him. Kneeling, facing that ever-cheering crowd, that same cocky grin on his lips that she somehow learned to love. Naturally, the marines had confiscated his swords and he looked so out of place without the three swords at his hip.

The look in his eye seemed calm as if he had accepted his fate. But Tashigi doubted that this was true. She wouldn't and couldn't believe that he had found inner peace.

Not as long as he hadn't kept his promise. He never got to achieve his dream. Kuina's dream. He never got to be the strongest swordsman in the world.

The tears were now streaming down her face as she was struggling to get out of Smoker's iron like grip.  
"Let me go!"  
Fuck it that she would ruin her career as a marine! She couldn't let this happen.

"They gonna kill you, Tashigi!"  
So what? At least she would die trying to save him.  
"I need to do this! Let me go! Smoker! Please! Please, let me go! Please!"  
She was sobbing now but she didn't care!

Her eyes never left him while he was watching Akainu. The Fleet Admiral was seemingly done with his speech as he was now facing Zoro.  
"Any last words?" he asked but Zoro stayed silent. Akainu did not seem to notice the stoic glint in Zoro's eye but Tashigi did.  
"Nooooo! Let me go! Don't! No. Don't do this! Please! Let go off me, Smoker! I need to…! Please!"

She watched in horror as the executioner took a step towards Zoro and lifted his massive sword high.  
"No!"  
The crowd screamed even louder so for Tashigi it was a miracle that the pirate suddenly looked at her.

Maybe he had sensed her or maybe it was pure luck but as soon as his gaze met hers she calmed down. Still crying and still in Smoker's grip, she watched him. Roronoa Zoro's cocky grin changed into a soft smile. A soft smile that she just saw yesterday for the first time.

This smile was the last thing the world saw of Roronoa Zoro. In the next moment, the executioner beheaded him. Uproar went through the crowd.

Nobody but Smoker heard Tashigi scream in agony.  
Nobody but Smoker saw her breaking down.

* * *

With a loud gasp, Tashigi opened her eyes again. The memory of this fateful day still running through her mind. So vivid like it was just yesterday, although it has been a year ever since.

Had she been asleep? It was normal by now that she woke up with tears running over her face after dreaming of his execution. But she could not remember going to bed. And she wasn't even lying in her bed or in any bed.

Instead she was lying on cold hard ground and above her there were dark clouds crowding the sky. Tashigi wasn't home. The days when she had a home and owned a bed bed were long gone.

In that moment everything came back to her, she was on a battlefield. People were fighting, screaming and dying around her. The tears never stopped running over her face. Marines, pirates and civilians. They all were fighting each other. It all started shortly after Fleet Admiral Akainu executed Roronoa Zoro.

Not everyone was happy about the death of the swordsman, especially not his crew. They swore revenge and a war broke out. A war that was long overdue. So much was going wrong in this world, and Zoro's death was the last straw. Everyone was fighting everyone. Pirates against pirates. Marines against marines,and they all got support from civilians. There were no clear sides and Tashigi had no clue what would possibly come out of a fight like this.

Taking a deep breath she tried to stand up but immediately fell back again, screaming in pain. What had happened to her? Now that she was fully aware of it, she felt the pain in every part of her body. It costed her more strength than expected to lift her hands off the ground and put them on her own body. Oh… right.

Bang.  
The first bullet had hit her in the lower abdomen.  
Bang.  
The second one had hit her on her right side just above her rib cage.  
Bang.  
The third one had hit her in her left shoulder.  
Bang.  
The last one had hit her just inches from her heart.

Shocked, Tashigi looked at her bloody hands and the clarity hit her just like the bullets had. She would be dying, here and now. Silently crying, she lowered her hands again and started to feel the ground. Where was it? It must be near her!

It felt like an eternity until her fingers finally brushed the hilt of her sword. Now smiling she grabbed it tighter and pulled it onto her body.  
Wado Ichimonji.  
His sword.

Seized by Akainu a year ago. But Tashigi had been able to steal it back from him. Someone like Akainu was not worthy to possess such a beautiful sword. It was the only one he had kept, he had sold the other two and she hasn't been able to track them down. Just another reason on her list why she wanted him dead. But he was faster than she was.  
"You could not leave him alone, could you?" a sad voice said to her right.

Tashigi looked at her former Vice Admiral through heavy eyes. The blood loss started to show.  
"No," she answered voice raspy.  
Smoker let out a heavy sigh and kneeled to the ground next to her.  
"You should have left him alone," he said while laying a rough hand onto her tearstained cheek.

But how could she? How could she leave him alone when it was him who killed the man she had fallen in love with just hours after she and Zoro finally laid aside all of their misunderstandings? Hours after she had felt Zoro's lips on hers for the first time? Hours after they promised each other to give themselves a chance?  
What Akainu did was unforgivable. That's why she wanted revenge. He had taken away the most important thing in her life. Something she had only just found. Something he had only allowed her to enjoy for a few hours. That was why she could not have leave him alone!

"I… couldn't. I… love that… stupid pirate and A… Akainu… he stole him from me."  
Smoker wiped a tear out of the corner of her eye.  
"I know you do, stupid woman."

Tashigi never saw the tears running over Smoker's face because she had spoken her last words.  
But the smile on her lips showed him that she had died in peace. Little did Smoker know that the last thing Tashigi saw was a smiling Zoro waiting for her.

**Author's Note:**

> Big thanks to [Luna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunnamars/pseuds/lunamars) who took a look at this before I posted it. And helped me a lot with the right tags and warnings. Love you, Wifey!


End file.
